The dramatic US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, carried out on June 22, were intended as a bold show of force – a decisive blow meant to eliminate the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capabilities. Launched with President Donald Trump’s declaration that Iran’s “nuclear weapons program is completely destroyed,” the campaign immediately drew global attention and domestic political praise. But less than a week later, a very different picture is emerging from within the US intelligence community, raising questions not only about the actual impact of the strikes but also about the political messaging behind them.

According to an early Pentagon intelligence assessment leaked to CBS News, the strikes likely only set back Iran’s nuclear program by a few months – not the “obliteration” that the Trump administration has touted. The assessment, which remains classified but has been described by sources familiar with its contents, reveals that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed, and much of its underground centrifuge infrastructure remains intact.

While the strikes did hit major facilities at Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan, the so-called “bunker buster” bombs – including the 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator – appear to have caused only partial damage. Entrances to nuclear sites were sealed and some above-ground infrastructure was damaged, but Iran’s deeper underground assets, including the heart of its enrichment program, largely escaped serious harm.

Despite these findings, White House officials lashed out at the leaked assessment. A spokesperson dismissed the report as the work of “a low-level loser in the........

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